Alberta jobs, wages increasing: StatsCan

‘Construction, along with real estate and rental and leasing, contributed the most to the year-over-year growth’

Average weekly earnings in Alberta were up 2.6 per cent to $1,149 in March, the highest of all provinces, according to Statistics Canada.

“Construction, along with real estate and rental and leasing, contributed the most to the year-over-year growth,” said the federal agency on Thursday.

It also said the number of non-farm payroll employees in the province rose in March by 4,800 and it was up 41,500 year over year.

Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada were $997 in March, unchanged from the previous month. Earnings were up 3.1 per cent compared with 12 months earlier, mostly due to increases in the last six months of 2017, said StatsCan.

“In March, the number of non-farm payroll employees was up 39,900 from February. The number of payroll jobs increased notably in professional, scientific and technical services; retail trade; health care and social assistance; and wholesale trade. At the same time, the number of payroll jobs declined in information and cultural industries. Compared with March 2017, the number of payroll employees rose by 375,200 (+2.3 per cent). Increases were observed across a majority of sectors, led by manufacturing (46,100 or 3.1 per cent) and health care and social assistance (43,000 or 2.3 per cent).”

Respected business writer Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran Calgary-based journalist who worked for 35 years for the Calgary Herald in various capacities, including 12 years as a senior business writer.

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